John Early has found his muse, and it's himself in a blond wig and breast prosthetics.
The Search Party actor, 38, is making his directorial debut with Maddie's Secret, a film about eating disorders, social media obsession, and food influencer culture—with Early playing the lead role as a woman. According to Rolling Stone, the film follows Maddie, a chef at GourMaybe Test Kitchen who rises through the food-influencer ranks while battling bulimia.
The inspiration came from Early's pandemic-era obsession with the Bon Appétit test kitchen. "It was a huge fixation of mine," Early told Rolling Stone. "I was watching it in bed before going to sleep, not even to cook." The food content world, he found, had become deeply troubling. "It's so pornographic," Early says. "There are low-angle videos of a girl emulsifying pasta. The sound is so sexual."
Maddie's Secret isn't a drag film, Early insists—he plays Maddie "believably as a woman," complete with hip pads and prosthetics. The cast includes Kate Berlant as Maddie's "overbearing sapphic best friend" Deena and Eric Rahill as her husband Jake. Maddie juggles her rising status with her deteriorating mental health.
Early recently wrapped an off-Broadway run of What We Did Before Our Moth Days in New York, and was reportedly "weeping uncontrollably" on a Manhattan park bench about leaving the city for Los Angeles. At least he'll have Maddie's Secret to show for it.
The film is a departure for Early, who's built his reputation as the acerbic gay best friend Elliott Goss on HBO's Search Party. Now he's ready to direct—and star in—something far more provocative.
